ConocoPhillips income falls 5%

SteveGelsi

This story was updated to correct the percentage figure for ConocoPhillips' earnings drop.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- ConocoPhillips on Wednesday said net income fell 5% as the oil giant saw its refining margins eaten up by the rising cost of crude.

ConocoPhillips'
COP, -0.62%
profit fell to $3.67 billion, or $2.23 a share, from $3.88 billion, or $2.31 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to $46.1 billion from $48.1 billion.

The company, which is the U.S.'s third biggest oil company behind Exxon Mobil
XOM, -0.11%
and Chevron
CVX, -0.40%
repurchased $2.5 billion in stock during the quarter.

Exploration and production net income for the third quarter rose to $2.08 billion from $1.9 billion.

In a theme to be repeated throughout the industry this quarter, refining and marketing net income fell to $1.2 billion from $1.5 billion. In the previous quarter, refining and marketing earnings totaled $2.36 billion.

"The decrease from the previous quarter primarily was due to significantly lower realized refining margins, partially offset by higher domestic refining volumes and a $141 million benefit from tax legislation enacted by Germany," the company said.

Analysts have been bearish on the quarter, with ten cutting their estimates and only two boosting them.

J.P. Morgan analyst Michael LaMotte said the company's latest earnings figure amounted to an estimate-missing $1.94 a share, when breaking out about $475 million in benefits.

Analysts expected ConocoPhillips to earn $2.17 a share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

ConocoPhillips also sees its fourth-quarter E&P unit's production higher by 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent to 60,000 BOE a day than in the third quarter because of normal seasonality and completion of its summer maintenance program.

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